Malaysia recorded 45 deaths and 522 admissions into intensive care units (ICU) in the past 24 hours, the highest number of fatalities and serious cases in a single day since the pandemic started, said Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
The country reported 39 deaths on the first day of MCO 3.0 (May 12) and 44 deaths on May 15.
The death toll in the country now stands at 1,947, 53 short of the 2,000 mark.
As for the admissions into ICU, the figure increased by two from Sunday’s 520.
The number of those requiring respiratory support also increased by one to 273.
Of the record number of fatalities yesterday, Selangor reported the most deaths with 20, followed by four each in Kuala Lumpur and Kelantan, three each in Kedah, Perak and Johor, two each in Negri Sembilan and Malacca, and one each in Pahang, Penang, Sarawak and Sabah.
Forty-four of the victims who succumbed to the illness are locals, while one is a foreigner.
A total of 24 of the victims were male, and the rest were female.
The three oldest among the deceased reported today were all aged 90 and females; two of them in Selangor and one in Malacca.
The youngest victim was a 36-year-old woman in Sabah who died at the Keningau Hospital in Sabah. She suffered from asthma and obesity.
Recoveries lagged behind new cases again today, with just 2,784 former patients discharged.
The number of Covid-19 clusters still considered active is 484.
Currently, Malaysia has the third-highest number of infections in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the Forensic Department of Sungai Buloh Hospital is providing a special container as an additional place to keep the bodies of dead Covid-19 patients.